So it's Saturday morning and as I browse through Dave's (whilst waiting in vain for my students to show up) a question keeps running through my head. "What to do this weekend?"

Well, there's BB's Cafe in Menteng if I'm feeling like some live reggae (anyone else noticed that in Indonesia, reggae = Bob Marley and nothing else?). I'll probably give Jalan Jaksa a miss because I just got paid and am not reduced to that yet. If I'm feeling competitive, I can head out for a game or three of pool at one of the cities innumerable pool halls. I like Hanggar, Jet Set and Gardu, in no particular order.

Feeling hungry? Well, to be honest, I'll eat about anything but, when the longing for curry becomes unbearable, I go to Hazara or Kinara. usually, though it's just sate, bakso, nasgor, etc etc.

Later on, I might swing by Kemang and pretend I'm esmud gaul. Even if I don't go to a bar, Kemchicks supermarket has killer bacon!

Of course, after about 2 in the morning, all roads lead to Stadium...

So what am I missing? What do you guys do in Jakarta with your weekends?

Yeah, Bogor's nice for the botanical gardens. Also, the hills around Sukabumi are worth a weekend - a drop in temperature, tea plantations, terraced rice paddies, etc. If I have a long weekend, I sometimes pop down to Pelabuhan Ratu for the beach, hot springs and the off chance of seeing Nyi Loro Kidul...

Not every foreigner spends all his (I'm talking about the men here) time in the fleshpots of Blok M et al.

I have been to a few wayang golek performances and I do find a gamelan orchestra to be very relaxing, but if we're talking Indonesian music, I tend to prefer dangdut! I haven't been to any Indonesian films in the cinema. Have you seen anything good lately, AT?

Ada Apa dengan Cinta? is good on VCD if you want something a bit teeny with the wonderfully delicious Dian Sastro. It doesn't have subtitles but it's very easy to folllow.
Also, there's Biola Tak Berdawai, which is on DVD and is Ok...

I've seen Ada Apa Dengan Cinta, and you're right it's not bad. It's just that most Indonesian films seem to be melodramatic teeny romances or terrible "horror" films. Babi Ngepet, anyone? Sorry, but were-pigs just aren't scary...

Stadium (to respond to Winmar) is a packed nightclub spread over four floors, though each floor seems to play the same kind of tribal/techno stuff. At the weekends it's open 24 hours and the pace doesn't let up. People have been known to arrive on Friday night and stagger out on Monday morning. Such feats of endurance are usually due to ingesting something a little stronger than coffee. Stadium is the only place where I've been offered class A drugs by the staff - I mean every member of staff.

While I myself can't lay claim to such 60-hour marathons, I still have a good time, even if I do regret in the morning... or afternoon...

Sounds like it's worth checking out! It's always a laugh when the staff try to sell you drugs. I remember going to a club in Bandung and having them bring out the pills from under the counter at the door.

Jakarta has it all. You can find any entertainment you want, good and bad.
Sex, drugs and (bad) rock n roll abound. You just need to know where to go...or where to avoid.
Going to buy bacon in Kemang is baaad entertainment!!

"I live here in Kill City where the debris meets the sea
I live here in Kill City where the debris meets the sea
It's a playground for the rich
But it's a loaded gun for me"

I agree. you got me. but hell this is more fun than dumb-ass gossip about low paying mis-managed Language Schools.
How much are the flying lessons from the pilot dude i wonder? The ex-teacher - come "top gun". Indo airforce will shoot you down dude.